Pregnancy Possibility: Symptoms & Timeline - Expert Advice

Question
Is there a chance that I could be pregnant.  We had sex the day beforE I ovulated and my LMP was on 2/20/07.  I'm now experiencing backaches,stomach cramps and fatigue.  Or am I experiencing PMS (Menstrual due 3/20

Answer
Dear Mashawn,

The sexual encounter took place at the most fertile time of your cycle. So it is definitely POSSIBLE that you conceived.

However, symptoms such as you describe are hormonal in nature. They can occur with surges of hormones in your cycle or with early pregnancy. That is why it is somewhat tricky to "diagnose" pregnancy based only on symptoms.

To know for sure, you will have to be patient.  :-)  If you miss your period expected on the 20th OR if you have bleeding but it is shorter in duration and lighter in volume than a normal period (because this could be implantation bleeding), go ahead and test for pregnancy. I typically recommend waiting until after the full week of a missed or short period to minimize the incidence of false negatives. At that time, make sure you use 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results.

I hope this has helped you a bit, though I know it's hard to be patient. Be well.

Brenda